Category Archives: Politics from a Black-Concious Perspective

a repost: “The Black Godfather”: Clarence Avant and the Ruling Class Use of Black Pop Culture

by in Entertainment Industrial Complex, Politics from a Black-Concious Perspective, Randomness... | 2 Comments

 

From the Melanin Man:

I seen this on Netflix the other day, and I was conflicted about watching it. At first glance I thought it was interesting because I never heard of this guy Clarance Avant. Yet, in my heart, I knew something was off when 1) a media giant such as Netflix is promoting  a documentary about an relatively unknown Black man and 2) looking at the trailer you figures such as Presidents Bill Clinton and Barack Obama (the two biggest shills of American supremacy & Black disenfranchisment) consigning on this dude.

As a Black Man/Woman, you have to be on guard at ALL TIMES when it comes to the “entertainment” you consume, even when it’s “Black” and/or  produced by Blacks. The harsh reality is we ain’t producing anything worthwhile with permission from the grand wizard behind the scenes.

And best believe the message you receive will be corrupted in some form or fashion!

Anywho, this article brings home the point why you can’t even trust your kin, because they’ll sell you down the river…

 

 

Originally posted on Black Agenda Report:

 

“The Black Godfather": Clarence Avant and the Ruling Class Use of Black Pop Culture 

“The Black Godfather”: Clarence Avant and the Ruling Class Use of Black Pop Culture

Clarence Avant mastered pimping out Black identity to normalize the functioning of a nation premised on the oppression of his fellow Black citizens.

“The Black Misleadership Class clearly has a division in the entertainment industry.”

A Netflix documentary has recently premiered about a man unknown to many, who wielded inordinate influence in the music, entertainment, and film industry relative to his humble beginnings as a Black child from Climax, North Carolina. “The Black Godfather ,” as Clarence Avant is sometimes called, shows how Avant was a crucial ruling class asset in neutralizing the radical politics of the late 1960s.

According to the documentary, during a time when over 70 percent of Black entertainers were directly controlled by organized crime figures, Clarence Avant was recognized for his ability to play hardball with Black talent. Avant was able to keep Black performers in line for the benefit of the White “Goodfellas” who had a stronghold on the entertainment industry. Early in his career Avant was recruited by the famed manager of Louis Armstrong, the mob connected Joe Glaser.  Glaser recognized Clarence Avant’s potential skill as a kind of “Black Overseer” keeping the Black entertainers in check while extracting the highest value for their syndicate paymasters.

“Avant was able to  keep Black performers in line for the benefit of the White ‘Goodfellas.’”

Clarence Avant, having only a ninth grade education, unimpressive stature, and no remote level of verbal dexterity or eloquence, parlayed his early role as the “Black Overseer” of entertainers and musicians into becoming “The Black Godfather.” Avant wielded so much power in the media and entertainment industry that even White corporate executives known for showing Blacks little regard or respect surrendered to Avant’s demands, even sometimes to their own economic disadvantage.

Clarence Avant’s power and influence grew to penetrate every echelon of American entertainment media. He interfaced with almost every influential Black entertainer from 1950’s Jazz singers to late 20thcentury Hip Hop superstars. Ironically, the documentary reveals that some of his long list of admirers, from giants like Quincy Jones to politicians like Bill Clinton and Barack Obama, had no idea what Clarence Avant actually did. What is obvious from the documentary is that the power of Clarence Avant did not lie in his mere persona, but stemmed from the forces that he worked on behalf of behind the scenes that held so much weight in the American culture industry.

“Even White corporate executives known for showing Blacks little regard or respect surrendered to Avant’s demands.”

What makesClarence Avant such an important person is that he was the key figure assisting in depicting Black popular culture as the embodiment of the American dream. This was done to the benefit of the American ruling class over a 50 year period when black life in America was becoming more politically and economically precarious. Though the Black Middle class has grown since Jim Crow, Black home ownership and unemployment are now at the level they were in 1968. Under the presidential management of Barack Obama, who states in the documentary that, “Clarence Avant is one of my favorite people,” 50 percent of Black wealth evaporated in the subprime mortgage crisis with no remedy from the first Black president.

Clarence Avant prides himself on having a role in the political elevation of every Democratic Party president this country has seen in the post Civil Rights era. He states in the documentary, “I believe in politics.” Early in the documentary he says, “The only thing that matters to me is numbers.” Meaning money is his primary motivation.

It is amazing to watch Bill Clinton wax on about the power and importance of Clarence Avant. Avant was an early contributor to Bill Clinton’s political campaign in 1992, and raised over one million dollars for Clinton’s efforts. Clinton went on to implement one of the most draconian crime bills in American history while overseeing the incarceration of more Blacks than all three prior presidents combined. Clarence Avant’s political activism illustrates a very important fact to students of Black politics: The Black Misleadership Class clearly has a division in the entertainment industry.

“The only thing that matters to me is numbers.”

Not only does this documentary act as a hagiography of Clarence Avant, but it also functions as a kind of visual celebration of Black fealty to the Democratic party in the post Civil Rights era. Corporate Trojan Horse Black politicians like Harold Ford, Jr. and even Senator Kamala Harris sing Avant’s praises throughout the documentary.

Many are unfamiliar with how Black America transitioned from those contentious political times in the late 1960s when Black movement figures from Dr. Martin Luther King to the Black Panther Party were decrying the crimes of American capitalism and imperialism at home and abroad. Some would believe that “law and order” simply descended upon the land under President Richard Nixon. What most forget is that from1967 to 1971, 300 urban rebellions reduced sections of American cities to smoldering embers.The U.S. ruling class feared the nation was besieged by a Black revolution of such magnitude that Lyndon Johnson believed the Soviet Union was helping coordinate it.

“The U.S. ruling class feared the nation was besieged by a Black revolution.”

This fear was so palpable that Lyndon Johnson authorized a commission to study the causes of the urban rebellions. One of the things most fascinating about the 1968 Kerner Commission Report is the section on using Blacks in media and popular culture to neutralize the radical fervor that was causing Blacks to not only challenge the American status quo, but exhibit willingness to burn the whole system to the ground.

From the 1968 “Kerner Commission Report: The National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders” requested by Lyndon B. Johnson to diagnose the causes of the Urban Rebellions of that period and neutralize further occurrence of such rebellions:”

The Negro in Media

Finally the news media must publish newspapers and produce programs that recognize the existence and activities of the Negro both as a Negro and as a part of the community. It would be a contribution of inestimable importance to race relations in the United States simply to treat ordinary news about Negroes as news of other groups is now treated.

Specifically, newspapers should integrate Negroes and Negro activities in all parts of the paper, from the news, society, and club pages to the comic strips. Television should develop programming which integrates Negroes into all aspects of televised presentations. Television Is such a visible medium that some constructive steps are easy and obvious. While some of these steps are being taken, they are still largely neglected. For example, Negro reporters and performers should appear more frequently–and at prime time in news broadcasts, on weather shows, in documentaries, and in advertisements. Some effort has already been made to use Negroes in television commercials. Any initial surprise at seeing a Negro selling a sponsor’s product will eventually fade into routine acceptance, an attitude that White society must ultimately develop toward all Negroes.

In addition to news-related programming, we think that Negroes should appear more frequently in dramatic and comedy series. Moreover, networks and local stations should present plays and other programs whose subjects arerooted in the ghetto and its problems.

In the context of the section above, one understands how after the 300 urban rebellions between 1967 and 1971 programs ranging from “Soul Train” to “Good Times” become important showcased spectacles of Black life and popular culture. Hence, the significance of a Clarence Avant, who mastered pimping out Black identity to normalize the functioning of a nation premised on the oppression of his fellow Black citizens.

Furthermore, the proliferation and hyper-capitalization of Black popular cultural production in the post Civil Rights era also must be thoroughly scrutinized in this context. With the expansion of Black images from streaming services to sports figures, the seduction of Black popular culture and its value as a vehicle of pacification and social control in periods of political contention becomes more obvious.

With the rise of White reactionary nationalism all over the globe and retreats on the gains of the Civil Rights Era from voter suppression to Black wealth evisceration, isn’t it time that people view figures like Clarence Avant and the overall Black media and entertainment establishment with not only suspicion, but as accessories to the crime of American racial hostility?

“The seduction of Black popular culture as a vehicle of pacification and social control becomes more obvious.”

Is it accidental that Citibank’s favorite president Barack Obama and his wife have now ventured into the culture industry to produce programming for Netflix ? Are people foolish enough to believe this is all just “entertainment,” for fun and enjoyment with no political or social agenda? When considering where this obsession with popular culture has taken the most disadvantaged among Americans, it is clear that the Kerner Commission’s formula for political pacification was rather effective. The Clarence Avant’s of the world can continue to laugh their way to the bank.

Clarence Avant starts his career as tool of organized crime, yet is able to rise to such a level in the American capitalist system that he becomes an emissary of the Democratic Party, working to ensure its political success by leveraging Black entertainment. Avant becomes a kind of “fixer,” acting as an intermediary between Black entertainers and the capitalist culture industry, as well as the American political system. Concurrently, Avant secures the expansion of the Black capitalist class in the entertainment industry while the hard realities of Black life are masked behind the bright lights and sweet music.

Therefore, the most important lesson from the documentary, “The Black Godfather,” is that agents of Black subjugation don’t have to be as vulgar and crass as a Bull Conner or Donald Trump. Sometimes those agents can be heralded as models of Black success while fulfilling their roles as the comprador elite helping suck the life out of innocent poor and working class Black folk. In Clarence Avant’s case at least it was done to a backbeat you could dance too. Aren’t we happy such a man provides a role model to emulate?

Pascal Robert is an iconoclastic Haitian American Lawyer, blogger, and online activist for Haiti. You can find his work on the web at Thought Merchant , and at Huffington Post . He can be reached via twitter at https://twitter.com/probert06  @probert06 orthoughtmerchant@gmail.com .

a repost: ‘Drowning the Land of the Ancestors’: In Sudan, an Ancient People are Fighting to Stop Their Culture and Legacy from Being Washed Away

by in AfricanNews, Black Ancient History, Egypt "Kemet" -related, Randomness..., Reposts | 4 Comments

Article posted on Atlanta Blackstar (click link for original)

 

Nubian Sites

By D. Amari Jackson

Several hours north of Khartoum by car — a mere 100 miles south of the Egyptian border — lies the sand-swept Sudanese town of Amara. Although its western half, Amara West, now appears as a desolate stretch of desert with little activity, the site was once the Nile-bound island home to the ancient Nubian kingdom of Kush and served as the administrative capital of Upper Nubia. And beneath the seemingly endless sands that now dominate the area lies the extraordinary remnants of this ancient people, their communities, their cultural and daily practices.

Over the years, through sporadic excavations, archaeologists in northern Sudan have unearthed thousands of artifacts, including pyramids, decorated tombs, circular buildings with large rooms and paved floors, and villas with garden plots, some well over 3,000 years old. Given recent attention to the area by the British Museum and their use of advanced magnet technology to measure telltale energy patterns in underground features, additional burial mounds, stone temples, communal structures and the bases of pyramids have all been detected beneath the sand.

“The magnetometry survey of 2008 revealed the hitherto unknown western suburb, with a series of large villas,” reported the British Museum as part of their Amara West research project. “One of these was excavated in 2009, and featured rooms for large-scale grain-processing and bread cooking, as well as private areas with brick-paved floors and whitewashed walls.”

However, the remainder of these submerged historic treasures might never reclaim the light of day. The Sudanese government has planned the construction of three hydroelectric dams in the region at Kajbar, Shereik and Dal to generate electricity from the Nile Valley, the sole stretch of fertile land in northern Sudan. Although two-thirds of the population lacks electricity, the massive reservoirs created by the projects will carry both dire and lasting consequences for the region. The Kajbar project alone would create a reservoir of 110 square kilometers while submerging some 90 villages, displacing more than 10,000 residents, and washing away more than 500 archeological sites, including thousands of rock etchings dating from the Neolithic to the medieval era.

Nubian residents have long protested these plans as the Sudanese government began wooing Chinese firms to their construction proposal well over a decade ago. In 2007, government security forces killed four and injured dozens of residents peacefully protesting the proposed Kajbar Dam, a brazen act the United Nations criticized as “excessive force” with “arbitrary arrests and prosecutions to stifle community protest against the Kajbar dam.” In 2010, the government awarded a $705 million, five-year contract to build the Kajbar Dam to Sinohydro, a Chinese company and the world’s largest hydropower contractor. However, the project lost steam due to a combination of popular resistance, politics and money until late 2015, when Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir convinced Saudi Arabia to finance the construction of all three dams.

Many residents believe, that along with gaining access to additional mineral resources like gold and iron ore, the dam projects are al-Bashir’s way of destroying Nubian heritage, culture and opposition through displacement and “Arabization,” the intentional spreading of Arab culture, language, identity and Islam to non-Arab populations. The controversial leader was charged by the International Criminal Court in 2010 with three counts of genocide in Darfur, where he was accused of trying to eradicate non-Arab ethnic groups in the region, and where hundreds of thousands died and millions were displaced. That same year, just weeks before the referendum where southerners chose secession from the country, al-Bashir delivered a speech in the southeastern village of Al Qadarif where he clarified, “If south Sudan secedes, we will change the constitution. Sharia and Islam will be the main source for the constitution, Islam the official religion and Arabic the official language.”

For their part, the Nubians, a people with ancient roots in both current-day Egypt and Sudan, are not planning to relinquish their land or culture without a serious fight, especially given how much they’ve already suffered from such construction projects. The Merowe Dam project in Sudan was completed in 2009, increasing the nation’s electricity but displacing and impoverishing more than 50,000 indigenous people from the Nile Valley. Many of those displaced never received the electricity or the compensation they were promised by their government. And it wasn’t the first time, as large Nubian territories in Egypt have already been lost to similar projects.

“We will never allow any force on the earth to blur our identity and destroy our heritage and nation,” proclaimed the Association of Nubians, a group opposed to the project, in a November 2015 statement. “Nubians will never play the role of victims, and will never sacrifice for the second time to repeat the tragedy of the Aswan Dam.”

The construction of the Aswan High Dam in Egypt over a half-century ago flooded hundreds of archeological sites while displacing over 100,000 residents from their homes, many of them Nubian.

“If the construction of the Aswan High Dam in the 1960s served as a warning, if you will, then the repercussions are going to be terrible, not just because of the loss of an untold number of archaeological artifacts, temples and tombs, but also because of the effect on the environment and human life,” stressed Anthony Browder, a cultural historian, author and educational consultant who researched ancient sites in northern Sudan in 2015. The popular international lecturer has traveled to Egypt 55 times and has conducted 23 archeological missions to the region since 2009. Browder is currently excavating two 25th Dynasty tombs of Kushite nobles in Egypt as the first African-American to fund and coordinate an archeological dig in the country.

Browder pointed out the dire and ongoing consequences in Egypt, including a mass “displacement of tens of thousands of Nubians from their ancestral homeland,” a rise in the water table that is now leaching water into and dissolving many of the country’s priceless stone monuments, and additional environmental impacts that have polluted the Nile, hampered local agriculture and been associated with increasing rates of pancreatic cancer. “I’ve lost two very close Egyptian friends to pancreatic cancer within the last eight years,” revealed Browder, noting the “same type of things will happen in Sudan when these other dams come online.”

As further confirmation of the history at stake, the eleventh-hour international effort prompted by Aswan to salvage as many artifacts as possible led to one of the great discoveries in archaeological history. In 1962, a research team led by Keith Seele of the University of Chicago Oriental Institute Nubian Expedition uncovered a pharaonic dynasty in Sudan which predated the first pharaonic period in Egypt. However, Seele buried his extraordinary findings from Qutsul (Ta-Seti) which included the beginnings of the Medu Neter sacred writing system later called “hieroglyphs” by the Greeks, an incense burner with pharaonic markings, and the royal crown of the south depicted on the heads of a dozen pharaohs prior to the unification and first pharaoh of ancient Egypt (Kmt). Almost two decades later, the find would further confirm the well-documented Black African foundations and lineage of the pharaonic Egyptian dynasties despite ongoing and often pathetic campaigns by the white and Arab Egyptology establishment to claim otherwise.

Outside of this historic find, explained Browder, what made the situation even more significant was that the Oriental Institute “made discoveries that Seele refused to release. It was only after he died in an automobile accident that his protégé Bruce Williams brought this information to light.” If it wasn’t for Williams, added Browder, “we wouldn’t know about Ta-Seti, the oldest monarchy known to man, the Qutsul incense burner, and other evidence that has proven the Kushite influence on Kemetic (ancient Egyptian) civilization.”

Such rich history is, once again, in need of rescue. “When I was in Sudan two-and-half years ago we found that a number of sites had in fact been built during the 18th Dynasty when Egyptians had control of that part of Nubia, that part of Kush,” said Browder. However, he stressed that both Kemetic and Kushitic cultures recorded their common belief that Gebel Barkal in northern Sudan was the home and birthplace of the major neterw — loosely translated as “gods” or deities — Amen, Djehuti, Ausar and Auset. The ruins of the Temple of Amen are still visible in Gebel Barkal today. So, suggested Browder, “it stands to reason that the oldest temples to Amen, Ausar and Auset are in Kush and Ethiopia and probably have yet to be excavated.”

Still, even with the serious and ongoing threats to these rich historical sites in present-day Sudan and to the ancient Nubian culture that both reflects and reveres them, Browder’s optimism is reflective of the adage that “truth crushed to earth shall rise again.”

 

a repost: On the Black Panther Movie and the Limits of Our Imagination

by in BlackPanthermovie, Entertainment Industrial Complex, Politics from a Black-Concious Perspective, Randomness..., Reposts | 7 Comments

Article originally posted on Black Agenda Report (click link for original)

 

Black Panther riding subway car

Bruce A. Dixon, BAR managing editor

The new Marvel Black Panther movie premieres this Friday. I’ll get around to seeing it maybe this weekend or soon after. I read a lot of comic books when I was very young, Fantastic Four and the first Spiderman among them. The Black Panther character came along after I discarded comics as something for kids, in favor of paperback science fiction and fantasy. By my junior year of high school I gave up science fiction too. A lot of it was frankly racist, and even when it wasn’t the authors would depict humanity hundreds or thousands of years in the future, spread across the stars and galaxies but still ruled by kings and queens and princes. I knew just enough about the world to know that was looking backward, not forward. Why couldn’t the authors of science fiction see this? Most places on earth had already thrown off rule by royalty and hereditary elites, and even when they didn’t mean it they were obligated to pretend they practiced or believed in something more democratic.

The Black Panther movie’s main characters are black and beautiful and all, but the lead guys are still a king and a brutha who wants to be king. The king is one of the richest people in the world – except for Spiderman I never heard of a comic book character worried about where next month’s rent would come from – and he rules over a fictional African country called Wakanda, a place loaded with technology so advanced it’s able to conceal its wealth and achievement from the rest of the planet.

I’m a senior citizen now, and it’s a little sad that apart from making the sheroes and heroes black and beautiful, which is sort of necessary but not nearly sufficient, comics and sci fi, at least the stuff brought to us by capitalist corporate media pretty much fails to imagine what a better world, or even the struggle to get there might look like.

If it’s so difficult for creative writers even to imagine a better world, or the struggle to make it better that might say a lot about about why it’s so difficult to move the needle out here in the real world.

Growing up on the south side of Chicago and attending a high school on the west side I caught the subway – the el to locals every day to and from school. I noticed all the cars had plaques telling us they were made by the St. Louis Car Company, except a new model subway car with no identifying markers introduced in the 1960s. 20 years later I got a job at Pullman Standard, the site of the historic 1893 Pullman Strike where we manufactured Amtrak cars, NY subway cars, Boston transit cars and such.

One day I ate lunch alone out in the yard, and getting up I looked at what I’d been sitting on. It was a mold of the end of one of those unidentified Chicago Transit Authority cars. I ran into the nearest building to ask the old timers had they ever manufactured CTA cars here. Absolutely, they said, pointing up at the row of CTA decals.

That day, instead of going home I detoured up to the 95th St. station, the end of the line. I waited for one of the trains with no markers of origin to pull in, and when the passengers stepped off the train I stepped on looking for identifying plaques saying that this train had been manufactured not two miles away by south siders of my dad’s generation. No luck. I asked the mostly black CTA workers who operated and maintained the trains. They didn’t know either, and were frankly surprised when I told them these were built right down the street.

I thought it was a lot like Star Trek, with all the people are flitting and flying back and forth around the galaxy in marvelous machines but we never see the workers who built those machines. Obviously the folks who ran Chicago in the 1960s didn’t want us even imagining that we possessed the power to build, perhaps to rebuild the world around us.

So I’ll go see the Black Panther movie. But I’m not looking for a black royal family. We already had one of those. If I was writing fiction, I’d want to show real people the power they have over the real world. But that’s just me.

a repost: There’s a Major Difference between Black History and African-American History

by in Black History, Food for Thought, Randomness..., Reposts | Leave a comment

Article originally posted on ThyBlackman.com (click link for original)

Do we really know what the past was, what actually happened, or is history “a fable” not quite “agreed upon”? Our knowledge of any past event is always incomplete, probably inaccurate, beclouded by ambivalent evidence and biased historians, and perhaps distorted by our own patriotic or religious partisanship. “Most history is guessing, and the rest is prejudice.” Which brings us to a question about Black History and African-American History…is there a difference? And the only answer that should matter is the one tendered by African-Americans and NO ONE else.

If it’s left up to white historians the answer would be a resounding no there isn’t any difference. The ruling class objective…isn’t to bring black people closer together…but rather extract the unity from us. The truth of our condition is that those that can shrewdly indoctrinate thoughts into our collective minds that serves their nefarious interest are doing so as a means of protecting white dominance. Black people are constantly inundated with fraudulent negative information about themselves that’s designed to create Black self-hatred, self-doubt and disunity.

Unequivocally, African-American history is the part of American history that looks at the African-American ethnic group in the United States, correcting the misrepresentations, and stereotypes of Black life throughout the country, and vindicating African-Americans by celebrating our extraordinary achievements as Americans. Most African-Americans are the descendants of Africans forcibly brought to and held captive in the United States from 1525 to 1863* (or early 1960s*).

The term Black History encompasses African history, the Caribbean and South America as well, not just African-Americans, and as supposedly liberated men and women we should have no problem acknowledging the difference, regardless how others may try to control the narrative. The [white lie] of both African-America history and Black History devaluing black people in general must not go unchallenged. African-American History is ancillary to Black History it’s imperative that African-Americans know the difference and not be in denial.

Negro History Week, the precursor to Black History Month was created in 1926 in the United States, when historian Carter G. Woodson and the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History…not the U.S. government…announced the second week of February to be “Negro History Week.” In 1976, when Black History Month was officially acknowledged by the U.S. government, and President Gerald Ford gave a very brief speech it resonated with paternalism. Which raises a question, are we a population of slaves who do not have to be coerced because we love servitude?

Black History…which is connected to Ancient Egypt…doesn’t begin with slavery; whereas, African-American History does and to allow the oppressor to get away with trying to intertwine the two histories as one is tantamount to mental ineptness lacking the fortitude to either think for ourselves or the intestinal fortitude to stand up and define our own reality. The intent is to keep us scared, to keep us subdued. Stop being scared, start standing up! You cannot enslave a mind that knows itself, values itself, and understands itself. We as African Americans need to initiate some critical thinking and stop believing the same BS that was forced upon our enslaved ancestors? They had no choice of the falsehoods they were made to believe, but today we are supposed to be free with access to all sort of computerized information. No longer is it necessary for us to believe as our enslaved ancestors were intimidated to, we should be doing our own research.

Often-times an argument is made that enslaved Africans didn’t come from Egypt but from West Africa therefore no connection. Yet, American and World History teaches that Greece and Rome are the Cradle of Western Civilization, which has nothing to do with most white people, but they lay claim to the cultures anyway. White people have their history, heritage and culture and it begins with Greece and Rome, the Black race also has its history, heritage and culture and it commences with Ancient Egypt.

Servitude ignorance is the highest form of mental slavery; if we insist on conforming to a world full of lies, we don’t have the right to complain about intimidation…as we never fought back…instead we let it go on. Your failure to think for and govern yourself gives oppressors permission to rule over you.

Anyone who is convinced his or her past is empty, backward, shameful or, indeed, totally negative, will normally resist any attempt to revisit that past. Such a person will have no lucid identity, despise self, and have no real awareness of his/her culture and heritage. This same person will refuse to consciously participate in or relate to any cultural customs and will resist any attempt to validate any [facts] discovered. They remain in darkness, the sunken place, helpless, and dependent, which is why so many succumb to embracing the N-word n**ga/n**ger.

Some people contend that black people were present on this land when Columbus supposedly arrived. To that I say…let’s do our due diligence…connect the dots and see what kind of shape it takes, and not assume there’s nothing to it. Most African- Americans have no clue what “The Moorish-American Treaty of Peace Friendship of 1787” was all about and its significance to African-Americans and how it may shed some light on things. Does the “Burrows Cave” mean anything? Supposedly it serves as a link to Africans arriving in America approximately 1500 years before Columbus. This and other clues could very well provide enough dots to connect and see what shape materializes.

In Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. 1964 speech “I have a Dream” he states that “the Negro finds himself exiled in his own land.” What was behind this comment? Was it just a trivial comment or was there some esoteric meaning behind it?

The African-American population owes it to self and their forefathers to unearth the truth. Black African-Americans have been bamboozled and hoodwinked long enough. To determine a real future for Black America, the entire race of people must learn about and embrace their past far back across the waters to use that as a foundation and a source of life for future progress. African-Americans must not wait to learn about Black history when it is convenient for the rest of America, but must become owners of their own enlightenment, keepers of their own achievements, and missionaries of their own salvation.

Americans in general are constantly subjected to images of a war-torn, famine-ridden, rampantly illiterate, and disease-stricken Africa. These deplorable depictions of Africa displaying only its poorest communities are in fact designed to make African-Americans feel grateful that their ancestors were enslaved and bought to America, therefore, they’re the lucky ones to have been taken away from the backwardness of Africa. Many countries in Africa have beautiful contemporary cities but seldom are these cities given exposure by mainstream media.

This psychological subterfuge and chicanery is extended to Black students during their educational development wherein they’re taught they have no significant history beyond the enslavement of their ancestors; most are mis-educated to respect and admire white culture and achievements above their own. Movies depicting mostly white heroes have the same psychological affect.

The antithesis is actor Danny Glover when he presented his script about the Haitian Revolution to Hollywood was turned down because there were no white heroes. The Haitian Revolution is significant and requires the attention of all African-Americans for without it there wouldn’t have been any freeing of the slaves in 1863. This is an illustration of how attempts are made to keep African-Americans dumbed down about Black History, and to embrace Eurocentrism.

African Americans must consciously and sub-consciously understand that what we are taught in public schools isn’t for our benefit but is what serves the best interest of the oppressor. History translates into “his-story”—the way one understands or interprets history from his or her own perspective to his or her own benefit. Today, African-Americans are living witnesses as to how both real Black History and African-American History have been—by “his-story”—distorted, misleading, deceptive and mind controlling.

Evidence all around the world suggests that Black civilizations were far more advanced than what’s portrayed to the black community by the oppressor. The ruling class and others want African-Americans to believe that the Black race past is limited to huts, spears and jungle life with no trace of civility, culture, organization, and self-sufficiency. Research exposes this narrative as a gross fabrication.

We must become more proactive in disseminating the truth among ourselves…especially with our youth. We have a choice…the tumultuousness of liberty…or the quiet of servitude, there is no gray area, it’s either one or the other.

 

Staff Writer; H. Lewis Smith

 

Food For Thought: RE-MEMBER YOURSELF, FAM!!!

by in #fuckintegration, #indoctrination, Food for Thought, Politics from a Black-Concious Perspective, Randomness... | 5 Comments

From The Melanin Man:

 

black boy malcolm x memeblack boy bored meme

 

When we learn, it should ONLY be to unlock information within you (i.e. attaining consciousness) that you already have access to that may have forgotten (i.e. asleep, lost consciousness, “the walking dead”) over time.

Despite what the Western philosophy has tricked you into believing, THERE IS NOTHING NEW UNDER THE SUN! All the knowledge of LIFE and SELF is within.

Support your  Black-Melanin Dominant elders, sages, scholars, philosophers, thinkers, etc. that are BLACK-MINEDED and truly have your best interests at heart!

 

Enjoy your Friday, fam!

 

Peace and Love to my melanated family,

The Melanin Man

a repost: The American system is not capitalism

by in #capitalism, Politics from a Black-Concious Perspective, Randomness..., Reposts | Leave a comment

I had a thought earlier this morning along this same idea. Low and behold I come across this article articulating that thought down to the T.

Ain’t that weird?!

 

Originally posted on  Personal Liberty (click link for original)

 

the word "capitalism" marked out

Posted on by Bob Livingston

One of the great myths of our time is that America is a capitalistic country. It is not, and has not been close to capitalistic for more than 150 years.

Capitalism is a social system in which an individual’s rights, including his rights to own property, are recognized and all property is privately owned. In a capitalistic society, governments acknowledge that individuals and companies can and should compete for their own economic gain, and the prices of goods and services are determined by the free market. The role of government in capitalistic societies is to ensure that markets function without interference and to protect individuals from fraud and/or the use of physical force by others.

Capitalism is not about greed. Capitalism is about human freedom, or as we term it, personal liberty. As Adam Smith posited in Wealth of Nations, when individuals are permitted to pursue their self-interest through markets, they are amazingly good at finding ways of bettering not only themselves but society as well.

In Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal, Ayn Rand writes:

The recognition of individual rights entails the banishment of physical force from human relationships: basically, rights can be violated only by means of force. In a capitalist society, no man or group may initiate the use of physical force against others. The only function of the government, in such a society, is the task of protecting man’s rights, i.e., the task of protecting him from physical force; the government acts as the agent of man’s right of self-defense, and may use force only in retaliation and only against those who initiate its use; thus the government is the means of placing the retaliatory use of force under objective control… In a capitalist society, all human relationships are voluntary. Men are free to cooperate or not, to deal with one another or not, as their own individual judgments, convictions, and interests dictate. They can deal with one another only in terms of and by means of reason, i.e., by means of discussion, persuasion, and contractual agreement, by voluntary choice to mutual benefit. The right to agree with others is not a problem in any society; it is the right to disagree that is crucial. It is the institution of private property that protects and implements the right to disagree — and thus keeps the road open to man’s most valuable attribute (valuable personally, socially, and objectively): the creative mind.

Americans no longer have property rights. Think you do? Try going a year or two without paying tribute to the king (via property taxes) and you’ll see who owns your property. The local sheriff will evict you; the state or local government will seize your property and sell it to the highest bidder or its favorite crony.

Try building a structure on your property… or even remodeling your home. If you don’t obtain the proper permissions (approval for your design, building permits and inspections), you will be fined and forced to tear your structure down. Failure to do so will result in armed agents of the government invading your property, assaulting and incarcerating you until you comply with the government’s demands.

Try damming a creek, tampering with the watershed or capturing water for a pond on your property. You will get a visit from federal agents representing the Environmental Protection Agency and the result will be fines, expensive court costs and possible visits by armed federal agents who will forcibly escort you off your property and into a prison cell.

Try growing livestock or certain plants on your property. Unless you live in an area zoned for agriculture, you will likely get a visit from a local or federal “inspector” who will order you to dispose of your animals and/or uproot your plants in favor of others approved by the local authorities.

Try selling a product you grew or made. You will be forced to comply with regulations regarding harvesting, production, packaging and distribution. You will be forced to act as agent of government and collect government tribute (taxes) which you must then pass along to government — regardless of the time and effort required to comply. Failure to do so will result in fines and/or imprisonment.

Want to inform people about and sell a protocol that experience and use has shown to be beneficial to good health? You must first obtain permission from local and federal agencies, provide proof that your protocol has been tested, tested and retested, regardless of the expense or inconvenience to you. You must then comply with any and all regulations regarding marketing, production, packaging and distribution. Failure to do so will result in seizure of assets, fines and/or imprisonment.

Want to not sell your product for a reason — or no reason at all — not approved by the establishment? That is not allowed and you will find your business shuttered and you will be subject to fines and revocation of your previously-acquired permission to conduct business.

The establishment will tell you that once enter into business you have surrendered your individual rights to the collective, and all your activities must be geared toward the collective good. This is the very definition of force — government force, which is anathema to voluntary exchange and individual liberty.

The federal government works overtime to ensure we are not a capitalist system by passing legislation and enabling federal alphabet soup regulatory agencies to create rules favorable to certain businesses and unfavorable to others. Congressweasels pass tax laws to encourage and discourage behaviors.

The federal government subsidizes certain products, driving up prices and encouraging unsound business practices that skew the market. There are still price controls on food products that were put in place during the Great Depression.

The Federal Reserve, which is not a federal agency but a privately-owned bank, prints money to infinity, which encourages mal-investment and skews the market. It is depreciating your currency.

Here is what has happened to the American people: The money creators, the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury as symbiotic partners, are creating non-substance (fiat money) and “buying” (stealing) substance with it.

Has anyone wondered why “federal money” never gives out? As admitted in congressional testimony and in Federal Reserve publications, the federal money creators can create any amount of “money.” Of course this money is non-substance fiat. It is imaginary numbers that appear either on green pieces of paper called dollars or as computer symbols.

The key word to describe fiat non-substance is infinity. This imaginary money system can be created to infinity and indeed is on its way. The American people (and the world) believe that this non-substance is real money. This is an exercise in an unbelievable and unimaginable delusion that is accepted by the mind as real.

This is socialism at its most perfect creation and it is doing exactly socialism’s work of transferring the wealth and savings of the American people to the state without payment.

Every writer, commentator politician in America refers to the U.S. as a democracy of free enterprise capitalism with individual privacy and property rights. We live in a fiction of freedom perpetuated with semantic corruption that has evolved us into economic fascism. Language and words that support a free society have been turned inside out.

The American economic system, and in fact the world’s economic system is failing, and that failure is being attributed by many on the left (and some on the right) as a failure of capitalism. This is a big laugh to any sober person.

All governments are fronts for monopoly capitalism, and monopoly capitalism has many names: fascism, socialism, communism and democracy. Big business has and will promote every ideology and philosophy known to man to disguise its madness for profits. But one equals the other. They are all immoral systems that use the power of government to exist and to suppress human freedom.

Capitalism is the only moral system. It was American free market capitalism that fueled the growth of the U.S. economic engine beginning in the 1800s and raised the standard of living around the globe, before monopoly capitalism began to exert greater and greater control over the U.S. economic system beginning in the mid-1800s and accelerated after the creation of the Federal Reserve in 1913.

The extraordinary level of material prosperity achieved by the capitalist system over the course of the last 200 years is a matter of historical record. But very few people are willing to defend capitalism as morally uplifting.

Sadly, it’s not just the progressive left and ignorant millennials that oppose free market capitalism. In any discussion forum where true or laissez-faire capitalism is discussed, “conservatives” are quick to make the disclaimer that “we must have some regulation” or, “we can’t have unfettered capitalism.” In truth, most so-called conservatives are really closet socialists. This is a testament to the powerful propaganda we are subjected to.

Throughout history there have been two basic forms of social organization: collectivism and individualism. In the 20th century, collectivism has taken many forms: socialism, fascism, Nazism, welfare-statism and communism are its more notable variations. The only social system commensurate with individualism is laissez-faire capitalism.

The return of capitalism will not happen until there is a moral revolution in this country. We must rediscover and then teach our young the virtues associated with being free and independent citizens. Then and only then, will there be social justice in America.

Decoding Netflix’s “Bright” from a Black perspective

by in #decoded, BrightDecoded, Entertainment Industrial Complex, Everything Melanin, Metaphysics, occult, Politics from a Black-Concious Perspective, Randomness... | 6 Comments

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From The Melanin Man:

The moment I finished watching “Bright” I knew I would have to write a post on it. The social and political themes are obvious to the casual observer, but there is also SO MUCH metaphysical and occult symbology and knowledge hidden in this film one could write on it for days.

I’m still “green” when it comes to the occult, which means hidden in Latin, mythology and mysteries of the universe. I have to admit, learning occult knowledge is really tricky at times. But thanks to binge watching on a ton of Bobby Hemmitt YouTube videos over the past two to three months, I feel like I have basic understanding of the occult as it relates to Black-Melanin Dominant population.

If you haven’t watched the movie but don’t plan to, feel free to read the plot summary courtesy of IDMB. If you’ve watched or plan on watching Bright, you can bypass straight to my “meat n’ potatoes” analysis of the film. I wasn’t going to trouble myself with typing a synopsis as I normally do.

This film is set in an alternate reality of the city of Los Angeles, where humans co-exist with orcs, elves, and fairies. Officer Daryl Ward (Will Smith) is out on the streets with his partner, Nick Jakoby (Joel Edgerton), who is the world’s first orc cop. Jakoby is grabbing a burrito when an orc gangster emerges from a shop and blasts Ward with a shotgun.

Some time later, Ward is ready to go back to the force. He is struggling to keep his house that he shares with his wife Sherri (Dawn Olivieri) and daughter Sophia (Scarlet Spencer). Sophia hates that her dad is a cop because she worries he’ll get killed. They see a video from Joe Rogan interviewing an orc as they discuss Jakoby being on the force. The other orcs hate Jakoby as they consider him a traitor. Ward dislikes having him as a partner because he blames Jakoby for him getting shot. Sherri then makes him go outside to deal with a fairy that’s attacking the bird feeder. Ward takes a broom and whacks the fairy to death.

Ward and Jakoby ride together, with Ward openly blaming Jakoby for the shooting incident. After driving through the wealthy Elftown neighborhood, they arrive at work, where a few rotten cops – Pollard (Ike Barinholtz), Hicks (Matt Gerald), and Brown (Joseph Piccuirro) – mock Jakoby when he’s not around. When Ward is assigned to be on patrol with Jakoby for the day, he protests to Sergeant Ching (Margaret Cho), but she doesn’t care for his complaints.

Ward and Jakoby head downtown to handle a disturbance, meeting with Sheriff Rodriguez (Jay Hernandez). A crazy man named Serling (Chris Browning) is waving a sword around and yelling nonsense. With the officers drawing their weapons, Serling surrenders and is taken into custody. On the ride back to the precinct, Serling pukes in the back of the car before starting to speak Orkish to Jakoby, saying he has a message from an organization called the Shield of Light, telling him to “remember the old ways”, and how a prophecy has chosen him, and that Ward is blessed.

Ward is later approached by Captain Perez (Andrea Navedo), along with two men – Yamahara (Kenneth Choi) and Arkashian (Bobby Naderi) – who order Ward to record Jakoby admitting that he let Ward’s shooter get away.

Serling is interrogated by an elf FBI agent, Kandomere (Edgar Ramirez), and his partner Montehugh (Happy Anderson). The agents ask Serling what he knows about two elf sisters – Leilah (Noomi Rapace) and Tikka (Lucy Fry). Serling knows that Leilah is a dark elf, part of the Inferni clan that wants to resurrect the Dark Lord, an evil entity that was defeated 2,000 years earlier by the Nine Armies. Leilah and her minions want to bring him back to unleash darkness upon the world with the use of three magic wands. Leilah is a “Bright”, meaning she can wield a wand without it destroying her. Montehugh says they need to find Tikka in order to set a trap for Leilah.

On the night patrol, Ward tries to get Jakoby to confess to the incident, when they are alerted to something going on at a house on Abrams Street. They arrive and are shot at by an unseen assailant. After a shootout, the officers kill the assailant. They head inside the house and find dead bodies, including a few that look like they were burnt alive. The officers find Tikka, who is in possession of the wand.

Ward calls in Ching and the other cops in regards to the wand. They want the wand for themselves, and they order Ward to go along with it and kill Jakoby, or he dies as well. Ward goes outside to do the job, but first he presses Jakoby at gunpoint on what really happened when he got shot. Jakoby admits he did let the shooter get away, but it was because he lost him in a crowd. He thought he cornered the guy in an alley, but it was just a young orc spray-painting the side of a building. Knowing that the human officers would kill the kid on the spot, Jakoby let him get away on a fire escape. Moments later, Ching and the officers step outside. Ward spins around quickly and shoots them all dead, but Pollard is the only one hanging on for his life. Jakoby attempts to arrest Ward until they are approached by a gang led by wheelchair-bound Poison (Enrique Murciano), who knows about the wand and wants it for himself so that he can walk again. Ward and Jakoby take Tikka and head into their van as the gangsters start attacking.

The officers drive away as the gangsters pursue them. The gangsters shoot at them, but Ward and Jakoby are able to shake most of them off. They find a place to hide briefly until more gangsters come after them. One of them finds the wand and tries to grab it, but it causes him to explode and kill those around him.

Leilah and her minions arrive at the Abrams house and find Pollard dying before Leilah finishes the job. She then finds another Inferni elf, Larika (Nadia Grey), who is stuck to the walls. She tells Leilah that Tikka got away with the wand, and she slashes Larika’s throat. The elves then come across a family that they kill for more information on the wand’s whereabouts. Kandomere and Montehugh later come upon the crime scene at the Abrams house, and Kandomere knows Leilah has lost the wand, making her vulnerable.

Ward, Jakoby, and Tikka walk through a sleazy orc/human strip club. Poison and his gang find them and once again threaten them for the wand, but Leilah and her minions show up and slaughter Poison and his gang. Another shootout happens, forcing the trio to run again. They run into a nearby convenience store where they find a place to hide. While tending to their wounds in a bathroom, Ward and Jakoby discuss their relationship. Although Ward doesn’t think of them as friends, he does tell Jakoby that he shouldn’t want to be like him, despite Jakoby previously stating he wishes he were because he sees Ward as fearless.

Rodriguez shows up to the store after hearing about Ward killing the officers. He orders Ward to cuff Jakoby since everyone suspects him anyway, and Jakoby willingly relents. Rodriguez is then shot dead as the elves drive up and crash through the store, shooting at the cops. The trio fight back, shooting at the elves before getting away.

The trio are then found by a group of orc gangsters belonging to the Fogteeth clan. After Ward mocks them, they get beaten and dragged to a church that serves as their lair. The orcs bring them to their leader, Dorghu (Brad William Henke). He wants the wand as well, and he mocks Jakoby for being unblooded (accepted by the other orcs as one of their own). After the cops refuse to give up the wand, Dorghu orders them to be executed. The guards drag Ward and Jakoby to a pit, and Dorghu orders his son Mikey (Brandon Larracuente) to execute Jakoby. However, Mikey can’t bring himself to do so, because he is the young orc that Jakoby let get away. Dorghu allows Mikey to go home, and Dorghu shoots Jakoby, letting his body fall into the pit. Tikka then pulls out the wand and uses it to resurrect Jakoby and raise his body up. The other orcs are astonished and kneel before Jakoby, believing him to be the one the prophecy spoke of. The three then leave.

Tikka then speaks English for the first time, now that she knows she can trust Ward and Jakoby. She explains that she took the wand because she knew Leilah wanted to bring back the Dark Lord, and she had sent Larika to kill her, but Tikka took the wand herself. The use of the wand took a toll on her, and it’s starting to kill her. She tells them that the Shield of Light can help them if they take her to a pool back at the Abrams house.

Ward and Jakoby bring Leilah back to the house. Leilah and the other dark elves show up and battle the cops. Ward and Jakoby manage to kill the elves, and Jakoby appears to shoot Leilah dead. They then take Tikka to the pool beneath a tree, but Leilah emerges, still alive. When she tries to get the wand, Ward grabs it himself. It starts to glow, and he doesn’t explode, meaning he is a Bright. Tikka tells him a war word to cast a spell, which Ward repeats, causing the wand to blast Leilah to smithereens. Outside, authorities arrive just as they witness the explosion. Ward and Jakoby look for Tikka, but she’s gone.

The officers are in the hospital and are approached by Kandomere and Montehugh. Although Jakoby tries to explain everything that happened, Ward denies that there was ever a wand, and that gangsters killed the corrupt officers.

In the final scene, Ward and Jakoby are commemorated for their heroism. Pollard, Brown, Hicks, and Ching are also honored alongside Rodriguez, with Ward expressing his hatred for that fact. Jakoby tells him to let it go, since at least they know the truth. Sherri and Sophia are there to support Ward, while he and Jakoby notice Tikka walking among the crowd, smiling at them.

So hopefully you got the gist of what went down on the surface in the film. Now…to the real deal.

From the little information of come across so far concerning the hidden mysteries of the universe, I’ve come to realize that anything involving the occult or occult practices is not limited to those of the pale-skinned, Melanin-Recessive nature. The biggest misconception is that those of that ilk are the foremost knowledgeable when comes to occult knowledge. In fact, when it comes to the occult, all of it is African-based, derived from the ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Ethiopia (Kush) and dispersed on all corners of the planet. From the mythologies prevalent in our religions and belief systems to the occult sciences (numerology, cosmology, cosmogony, astrology, astronomy), it is ALL the creation of people who were African, Black-Melanin Dominant.

It should common knowledge at this point that the white, Caucasoid European did not create ANYTHING whatsoever on this physical plane. Nor do they have any real access to the metaphysical/spiritual realm as they seemingly have a stranglehold on many various occult texts stolen discovered from the ancient world over millennia.

Unless they have a little Black in their DNA, which leads me back to the film itself.

The wand, the main plot device throughout the film, acts as a representation for having the ability to connect to the metaphysical/spiritual realm (the unseen realm), the realm that directly effects the physical realm, the realm that truly matters in the grand scheme of things. The wand was originally possessed by a wicked subset of Elves (who’s considered the Elite, the self-proclaimed cream of the crop in the film. Sound familiar?) called the Inferni, which derived from the Illuminati. Although these dark Elves had control of the wand, they could not harness its true power without the assistance of a Bright.

Connecting it to what I know and the real world, I interpreted a Bright to be a person who possesses a soul and has to the ability to tap into the spiritual realm. In some underground circles, it is believed that the vast majority of Blacks have souls (is it a wonder Blacks make the greatest soul singers?) whereas the majority of those who are considered “white” do not. Those who are white who do have souls undoubtedly have “a drop of Black” in their DNA.

If you touch the wand with your bare hands and you’re not a Bright, you can burn ALIVE. It symbolizes the rising of the Kundalini (primal energy located at the ROOT Chakra, where the soul resides.) Except no SOUL exists.

(If you’re not familiar with the Kundalini, please find the time to do some research.)

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The wand possessed by the evil leader of Inferni, Leilah

Notice in the picture that evil elf Leilah is wearing gloves so she can be able to hold the wand. The cops that turn against Will Smith’s character Daryl Ward and his cop partner Nick Jacoby scoop the wand, not with their bare hands, but with a Duffel bag. There’s also a scene where a group of Hispanic gangbangers, who are chasing after Daryl, Nick, and the benevolent elf Tikka (who’s a Bright), attempt to pick up the wand and subsequently burn alive.

How convenient is it that the only human in the film that was able to pick up the wand with their bare hands was Will Smith’s Daryl Ward, who only discovers at the moment prior to destroying Leilah that he himself was a Bright (or one with a soul?)

I peeped that out the moment it was mentioned by the crazy Serling that Daryl was “blessed.”

Tikka, prior to turning traitor to Inferni, was used by Leilah to harness the power of the wand. It can be assumed that Tikka represents the Black woman (who holds the supreme “feminine principle” connection to the spiritual realm) who’s unknowingly, and in some cases knowingly, used by the Elite (who possess practically all of the ancient occult knowledge) to keep and maintain the current paradigm.

And what about the Dark Lord, which was defeated approximately 2,000 years ago by the Nine Armies? Which coincidentally falls around the same time of the chronology of Christ myth?

Side note: Check this post out. This is a good detailed read on the occult symbology that was showcased in Bright. I found one tidbit very interesting. The number of armies that defeated the the “Dark Lord” 2,000 years ago is the same number concerning the Nine Circles of Hell of Dante Alighieri’s Inferno . It details how individuals rejected spirituality in favor of bestial appetites, perverting the human intellectual capacity through the nine sins listed in the image below.

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“The Nine Circles of Hell”

Could it be that the Dark Lord was metaphorically defeated by these nine sins?

We know by now that “dark” should not be seen as “evil,” per se. And “dark” directly correlates to melanin, or “dark matter.” So the fall of the Dark Lord can be viewed as the fall of the people with melanin, the loss of their dominance in the physical world, in part due to its own undoing. Tikka mentions if the Dark Lord returns, he will destroy billions of lives and enslave the remaining to worship him in a new age of magic. I’m not entirely sure on this topic so I’m taking a shot in the dark on this one. If you don’t view this through the lens of good vs. evil, the Brights (ones with souls) will be the ones to “worship the Dark Lord” (respect for the true natural order of universe?) in a “new age of magic” (the new reality of fifth dimensional consciousness?) Inferni may be attempting to gain leverage of the situation, thinking by summoning the Dark Lord through Brights like Tikka (black woman) it can maintain its Elitist position when he returns.

I may be reaching on this one, but hey it doesn’t hurt to try, right?!

Also in the scene where the Orc cop Nick (if you haven’t noticed yet, the film portrays Orcs similar to low-income Blacks, as whole, from the real world) is raised from the dead by Tikka is a Christ-like manner is not accidental either. I believe it symbolizes the Black man rising back up by reconnecting to his better half, the Black woman, through the occult knowledge of his ancestors.

On side note: the partnering of Daryl and Nick is also intriguing to me, as they portray the Black man in two distinct realities. There is no mention of Daryl’s skin tone nor is it necessary since he is viewed and accepted fully as a human being by assimilating into the system i.e. his white wife and biracial offspring. Nick as an Orc whose not assimilated in the system cannot escape his Orc background/ethnicity (his Blackness) and thus must fight daily to prove his worth (his humanity) to his cop colleagues. This is further illustrated when Nick is trapped with the dilemma of fulfilling his duties as a cop and arresting an innocent Orc graffiti artist (staying loyal to his Blackness). He decides to let him go (being Black first, profession second), placing his job in jeopardy. The act, along with the fact he was “raised from the dead”, gained Nick street cred with the Orc gang that captured and sacrificed him, which ironically was the same gang the Orc kid graffiti artist was a member of.

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Will Smith’s Daryl Ward: “You’re really my homie, you know that?!”

This is what I took from Bright. As mentioned before, there is WAYYYY more information in the movie that I glossed over. Again, I think this post does a good job highlighting a good chunk of it.

Let me know your thoughts. Stay vigilant and prudent in watching these movies, fam!

Always look for the deeper, the hidden, message!

Peace and Love to melanated family,

The Melanin Man

a repost: The Call for Black Collectivism

by in #blackcollectivism, Politics from a Black-Concious Perspective, Randomness..., Reposts | 7 Comments

 

“Couldn’t have said better myself!”

Article originally posted on ThyBlackman.com (click for original)

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(ThyBlackMan.com) There is a popular axiom that states, ‘A fool and his money shall soon part.’ There is quite possibly no more succinct means of describing the current economic state of Black America. Put simply, we have been foolish, if not completely reckless in regards to our collective economic dealings. Things are in such a state of disarray that a reasonable person would question if the term Black unity is an oxymoron.

The issue of economic collectivism among African-Americans is a topic bantered in venues varying from Black Nationalist gatherings to Black barbershops/beauty salons. All seem to agree that in regards to collectivist economics, the Black Community has been in a downward spiral since our educated class decided that their path to survival was via assimilating with an economically unified white community that has historically displayed via every means possible that they had no desire for any relationship, outside of an economically exploitative one, with Black America.

One is left pondering how Black political leaders, business people, intellectuals, educators, clergymen, the population that William Edward Burghardt Du Bois characterized as the Talented-Tenth allow this to occur? Was the elite too preoccupied with accumulating material possessions to comprehend the mounds of evidence that made the words assimilation synonymous with economic servitude?

Were they focused upon giving their offspring everything they never had and in the process failed to provide them either the crucial elements that facilitated their success or the understanding that the descendants of enslaved people are eternally inextricably linked with each other? It appears that African-American leaders are the only racial/ethnic leadership group that has failed to deliver the point that collectivist economics is crucial to group survival. Failure to understand this reality places African-Americans in the peculiar predicament that the great Harlem Renaissance poet Langston Hughes expounded upon in his poem,

I, Too
I, Too
I, too, sing America.
I am the darker brother. They send me to eat in the kitchen
When company comes,
But I laugh,
And eat well,
And grow strong.
Tomorrow,
I’ll be at the table
When company comes.
Nobody’ll dare
Say to me,
“Eat in the kitchen,”
Then.
Besides,
They’ll see how beautiful I am
And be ashamed –
I, too, am America.

(Langston Hughes)

One of the most amazing occurrences in today’s highly contemptuous battle for survival in a rapidly diversifying nation has been African-Americans inability to understand that economic survival, let alone prosperity or winning, hinges upon collectivism and group cooperation; and until those lessons are learned we will continue to dine in the kitchen that Hughes writes about, eagerly waiting for a kind invitation to dine at the table of America. That invite has never, and will never, come out of kindness. Put simply, life is analogous to a board game where players, meaning various races and identities, attempt to increase their holdings [political and economic power] through strategic maneuverings, the ability to coordinate with other players, who are invariably receiving some benefit from the coordination, increases one’s opportunity for success.

Considering this analogy, it appears as if other groups — Alternative Lifestyle [Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Queer], Women [Wealthy, Middle-Class, Working-Class, Asian, Latina, White, Black], Asian [Chinese, Japanese, Filipino] Latina [Mexican, Puerto Rican, Brazilian, Cuban, Dominican] White [Irish, Anglo-Saxon, Russian, Italian, Polish, German] — are able to make decisive logical moves on this crowd game board and forge alliances to advance their interests.

Now, it is not that persons of African descent [Nigerian, Jamaican, African-American, Ghanaian, Black Brits, Haitian, Cuban, Brazilian, Caribbean] are not involved in the game, it is that they are the least likely to forge an alliance with other groups, including their own racial group. Predictably, their attempt to navigate the game of life solo leads to not only frustration but also the total loss of their political power and total dependence upon others for material survival; they become in a word, parasitic.

In time, this population will make what they consider a logical move to get in the game, a decision that drives home just how uninformed they are in regards to how this game is played, they will shun others in their racial/ethnic group and attempt to join with another group, thinking that such is an appropriate strategy to extricate themselves out of an increasingly deep hole. Little do they realize, they have made what is akin to a Faustian deal that guarantees them nothing more than a few politico-economic crumbs that the larger players will offer them once their appetite is satisfied!

In their defense, I must add that the primary reason they never turn within their own group to forge coalitions is that they have been taught in classrooms, media, and through experience that, “Niggers don’t know how to handle no business.” The vast majority of movers and shakers within the Race will relate such feelings as they bask in their self-created position as the only Negro who is about making moves; we all know that this fool, thinking that they can take on the world alone, what they invariably discover is that they are simply busy with their myriad pyramid schemes and quick rich scams that are actually enriching other groups.

The reasons for considering African-Americans economically parasitic are obvious, however, a pressing query remains; that being, why does it seem that only persons of African descent remain steeped in these dire straits. And more importantly, what is the solution to reversing this unfortunate reality?

The path for group empowerment is always the same; groups close ranks for a period, mobilize their economic resources, and focus their energies upon hard work and educating their men, women, and children with an eye toward political power, economic self-sufficiency, and a liberating theology.

Despite the reality that such uplift programs occur within the public sphere, many African-Americans are naïve enough to believe in an ethos of individuality. Their logic is that if they work diligently as an individual they will succeed; nothing could be further from the truth. I had a professor who once highlight the fallacy of such thought when he remarked, ‘If hard work were all that you needed to succeed in America, Black folk would run this nation because no one has worked harder than us’; hard work and diligent effort, although a part of the equation, is in no way the entire equation. I must admit that I am amused when Conservative groups such as the Tea Party stand in the midst of their collective group and advise others to seek political power and economic freedom individually, please do not be seduced by the lie of either American individualism or laissez-faire, let alone trickle-down economic schemes that other groups endorse. They are actually collectively mobilizing their political resources to enjoy the fruits of their labor individually.

Considering the current position of African-Americans, it is foolish for us not to focus our energies on studying, mobilizing, and then executing a plan to help uplift the race. Failure to do so will most certainly result in a continuation of the dire consequences currently affecting the community.

Please remember that life is like a game, with multiple players with the same goal, securing as much political power and money to not only operate today but also to flex their muscles when need be and force others to do what is not necessarily in their best interests. It will not be until we understand that other groups are not only organized and executing plans that not only accentuate their strengths but also exploit our collective weaknesses that we will even begin to be prepared for this game. The question is, how long will we allow the game to operate before we begin mobilizing our game pieces and develop a plan to decisively enter the game in a way that matters?

So the question remains, are African-Americans prepared to not only understand the game but also participate in it at its highest levels? Or will they continue to serve as little more than relatively insignificant pawns in a chess game? It is only through issuing a significant challenge to the prevailing economic power structure that African-Americans have any chance of surviving, let alone flourishing, economically. And there is no doubt that it is impossible to even issue a challenge until we are able to unite, close ranks, strategize collectively, develop and then execute a logical plan aimed at uplifting the race. Failure to do so will eventually lead us to be wiped completely off of the board of this game called life and signal our collective failure at issuing any challenge to the prevailing economic tyranny that we have experienced since integration occurred.

 

Staff Writer; Dr. James Thomas Jones III

The Melanin Man’s Christmas Rant Part 1: It’s True…Santa Claus Does Exist!

by in Food for Thought, Having a Moment, Metaphysics, Politics from a Black-Concious Perspective, Randomness... | 2 Comments

Image result for santa claus thief

From the Melanin Man:

This is going to be short but I wanted to share a thought with you today. For those of you that still acknowledge the day, it’s almost Christmas and time is running out to give away our moneys and energies to attain the latest and greatest toys and gadgets that will most definitely be obsolete the moment you buy them.

But I’m not going to harp about that. I wanna focus on that FAT-ASS fictional character we trick our gullible offspring into believing at a very young age.

Mister Santeeee Claus!!!!

Yet the thing is, Santa Claus is not fictional. He’s most definitely alive and well.  Think about it. A jolly old obese white man who lives on the cold frigid environment of the North Pole and provides everything that your kids (and you at one point before you assumedly became an adult)  want and have asked him once a year.

Whom does that remind you of?

Hmmmm…wait a minute. This sounds familiar..

-Doesn’t the elite (the unseen powers-that-be) run and control ALL industries on the face of the earth that PROVIDES these latest and greatest toys and gadgets to the ignorant masses we throw our hard-earned monies on?

-Isn’t the majority of the elite (let’s be honest, about damn near all of them) white, European, Caucasian (**cough** Melanin-Recessive**cough**) who are cold-natured?

-Doesn’t the elite mainly keep out of the sight of the public eye for the most part as well?

-And ain’t this same elite getting FAT RICH AND POWERFUL off of that same hard-earned monies we continue to spend and give away to them for JUNK????

Yes, Santa does sound awfully like that parasitic elite.

 

Image result for santa claus thief

Thieving -Ass Santa (or Elite)

 

Only difference is Santa comes once a year. The elite is a constant in every facet of our  lives…from the wiping of our asses and flushing of the toilet, to the way we raise and teach our sons and daughters!!!

Like a leech.

So in essence, Christmas in its modern form is really a holiday to the elite, personified through Santa Claus, as we foolishly pay homage to them at a higher than normal (see” “extreme”) level!

Consumerism and Materialism wins again!! Gotta love it!!!

(And for my “Hallelujah! Thank Ya Jesus!” believers, don’t give me the “Jesus is the reason for the season” bull-malarkey either. Not gonna get into that…this Christmas. Saving that for Part 2.)

 

The only thing I get from this time of year is an opportunity to see family and friends, even if I may or may not have beef with a few of them (lol!) And that’s ALWAYS been the case with me despite the charade of Christmas, or any holiday for that matter.

At the end of the day that’s what truly matters. Heh, I bet you’re thinking that’s a “Duh!” comment, right?!  Well, it’s OK to be reminded every once and a while. People do have a tendency to forget the truth (i.e. “Blacks were the first and only hue-mans on the planet, the REAL originators of civilizations, many eons ago.”)

So this “holiday”, appreciate your loved ones, revel in their presence, and be the best you that you can be.

Oh…and remember to stay conscious at ALL TIMES!

 

 

Peace and Love to melanated family,

The Melanin Man

a repost: Thank CNN for the Slave Auctions in Libya

by in Did You know?, Politics from a Black-Concious Perspective, Randomness..., Reposts | 4 Comments

Article originally posted on Black Agenda Report (click link for original)

 

Thank CNN for the Slave Auctions in LibyaThank CNN for the Slave Auctions in Libya

“Zero context is given as to why the slave auctions exist in the first place.”

On November 14th, CNN produced an “exclusive” report about the slave trafficking of migrants in Libya. The report detailed the devastating conditions of migrants fleeing from crisis in nations across North and East Africa. Smugglers, as CNN calls them, capture and terrorize migrants before selling them into day labor. Libyan authorities then detain the migrant laborers and repatriate them back to their nation of origin. CNN emphasizes the horror of the slave auctions with the caption “I was sold” underneath a picture of one of the migrants, Victory, whose story is told in the report.

CNN’s coverage of the matter is typical of the corporate media. Zero context is given as to why the slave auctions exist in the first place. It is as if the horrors in Libya had just been discovered because of CNN’s investigative journalism. The underlying assumption of the report is that slave markets are a fetter of the past completely foreign to the enlightened audiences in the US and Western countries. Yet we have CNN to thank for the emergence of slave relations in Libya.

It was CNN that took part in the most slanderous of lies in cooperation with the US-NATO war on Libya in 2011. Libya was bombed for over seven months while CNN provided media cover all along the way. CNN produced opinion pieces explaining why the invasion of Libya was a just war . Reports from CNN described Libya as a nation ruled over by crazed dictator Muammar Gaddafi who suddenly found the appetite to murder “his own people.” The so-called “impartial” media monopoly spread absurd lies about Libya on behalf of the Pentagon and NATO, including the twisted rumor that Gaddafi supplied his troops with Viagra to rape women and children.

“We have CNN to thank for the emergence of slave relations in Libya.”

Of course, nothing that CNN and its corporate media partners reported about Libya ended up being true . US-NATO countries had in fact been supplying foreign proxies with the necessary military and logistical equipment to foment a crisis in Libya in 2011. Many of these groups, including the Libyan Islamic Fighting Group (LIFG) were affiliated with Al Qaeda. Libya’s “rebel” militias described as revolutionaries by the likes of CNN have long since been found to have committed heinous crimes against humanity in their quest to overthrow the Libyan government. Email leaks of Hillary Clinton’s correspondence with a trusted advisor revealed that the former Secretary of State had full awareness of the crimes the rebels were committing against the Libyan people.

She, and the rest of Washington, supported them anyway. Washington and NATO’s band of terrorists would take power in October of 2011 after the ruthless and illegal assassination of Muammar Gaddafi. The Libyan state was destroyed. With the destruction of the state also came the eradication of the conditions that protected Black Libyans and other migrants. And rival militia groups have continued to sow chaos in a country that was once the most stable on the African continent.

Yet it took six years for CNN to report on the slave auctions in Libya. Libya, like the rest of Africa, is not worth media coverage unless it is mired in chaos. CNN was nowhere to be found when Libya was developing the most prosperous nation in Africa between 1969-2011. There were no CNN reports detailing Libya’s free health coverage, universal subsidized housing, or equal rights for women codified in the constitution. CNN’s corporate executives thought little of Libya when the nation announced plans for a continental military and currency just prior to NATO’s mission to destroy the African country.

“The so-called ‘impartial’ media monopoly spread absurd lies about Libya on behalf of the Pentagon and NATO, including the twisted rumor that Gaddafi supplied his troops with Viagra to rape women and children.”

The same can be said about all developments on the African continent. Corporate media outlets wasted no time portraying Zimbabwe’s recent unrest as a coup even though the same ruling party remains in power after Robert Mugabe’s formal resignation. Zimbabwe has made headlines nearly every day now that their leader, who is despised by the imperialists, has stepped down in response to internal conflict. Zimbabwe’s achievements in education, healthcare, and land reform are not merely afterthoughts to the corporate press. They are a problem. Hundreds of thousands of formerly unemployed and peasant Black farmers have resettled on formerly white-owned land since the early 21st century. Zimbabwe is one of the most educated countries on the African continent and sports a declining a HIV rate as well.

An African nation that isn’t compliant with imperialist-imposed underdevelopment reaches the airwaves only when in duress. The corporate media has little interest in delving into Africa’s positive achievements. Corporate outlets such as CNN are nothing but mouthpieces of the US imperial state which requires endless war to maintain legitimacy. To CNN, Libya’s descent into slave relations is an embarrassment to the civilizing mission it helped carry out alongside the US-NATO alliance. Libya’s abject condition is the starkest example of the loss of control evident in every aspect of imperialism. War is a prerequisite to imperialism’s continued dominance, yet in the present-day war only results in chaos and ruin.

“Corporate outlets such as CNN are nothing but mouthpieces of the US imperial state.”

For many in the military apparatus, chaos and ruin are the goals. Libya’s demise set into motion a regional wide crisis that has served as a self-fulfilling justification for military intervention on the continent. AFRICOM’s expansion reached a climax with the destruction of Libya. The former Arab socialist republic was one of three nations that refused US military assistance. Arms that were placed into the hands of Al Qaeda affiliated “rebels” in Libya traveled to terrorist groups on both coasts of Northern Africa directly following the demise of Gaddafi. In 2015, it was reported that the US had conducted 674 military operations continent wide, which included a steep increase in drone warfare.

CNN doesn’t report the casualties of drone warfare in Africa. It doesn’t report on AFRICOM or its attendant military operations, either. CNN is the mouthpiece of regime change. Its parent company Turner Broadcasting is interested in nothing more than a larger profit share for its investors (capitalists). As the media in the US has monopolized into private hands, journalism has become less reflective of public opinion and more of a weapon against the consciousness of the people. Corporate media coverage of US involvement in world affairs is nothing more than a press release for the Pentagon. Many media corporations regularly clear with the Pentagon prior to airing information about US military operations.

“Arms that were placed into the hands of Al Qaeda affiliated “rebels” in Libya traveled to terrorist on both coasts of Northern Africa directly following the demise of Gaddafi.”

That is why the CNN report of Libya’s slave market in no way traces the development back to US designs to destroy the independent African nation back in 2011. This type of criminal negligence is pervasive in the corporate media across all topics that relate directly to the poor and oppressed. Few corporate outlets have covered with any urgency the new report that just three billionaires own more wealth than the bottom half of the US population . In fact, the corporate media and their partners in Washington actively wage war on the truth. Russia media outlet RT has been repeatedly attacked by US intelligence for allegedly sowing division in the US through its coverage of fracking and police brutality in the US.

Trust in the corporate media is thus at a low point in the US. The corporate media is now seen as illegitimate by the majority of the population. That’s because the corporate media’s image as a “legitimate” source of information has been damaged by a long record of blatant lies and half-truths. Corporate media such as CNN are the vehicles of misinformation that the ruling class desperately needs to reproduce the rule of imperialism. At no other time has this been more apparent. So even as CNN reports on Libya’s slave auctions, we can thank the corporate media for producing the deplorable conditions that exist in that country and much of the planet in the first place.

Danny Haiphong is a Vietnamese-American activist and political analyst in the Boston area. He can be reached at wakeupriseup1990@gmail.com